10 Ways We Can Change The Curling World

If you’re looking for a way you can impact the Curling World, here’s the Top 10 List of Ways We Can Change the Curling World:

Thank a curling volunteer. Enough said.

Take your team and play in at least one bonspiel per year. Whether you are a mixed, men’s, women’s, senior or junior team, there is nothing more enjoyable than playing in a well run club bonspiel. While you’re there, thank the icemaker and eat the homemade cooking. If there’s a theme, play along. Sit with your opponents after the game (see #7). Play well and win a prize! When you get home, send an e-mail to the committee thanking them for their efforts (see #1).

Introduce a kid to curling. Son, daughter, nephew, niece, grandson, granddaughter, your neighbour’s kids, take them curling. Show them how much fun it can be and then let them have fun!

Take the family curling. When your family gets together for whatever reason (in the winter!), book the curling rink for 2 hours or more and take everyone curling. Christmas is a good time and the clubs would love to have you. Check out this neat blog.

Convince your office to go curling. I bet we all have office golf tournaments so why not an office curling day. No weather worries, good pricing, all playing together rather than all over the golf course; it’s a great idea and many businesses are catching on. If your office is too small, challenge others in a ‘small business’ spiel. Or, if you are a member of another organization (professional association, a summer sport club, church group), convince them to curl. Rent the ice on a weekend afternoon, throw some rocks and enjoy the hospitality of the club!

Play in one competitive event. Each province/territory has events including those leading to national championships where you can test your skills and the fun of playing under pressure. You may not win but you can boast you played for a provincial / national title. Can’t do that in most other sports.

After any game, sit with your opponents and share a post-game beverage. In many curling communities it is traditional for winners to buy the first round and then once the glasses are empty, the losers reciprocate. Talk about the game, but more importantly, talk about your work, your family, your past and you will be amazed on how well you will connect and in the darndest ways. They say there are six degrees of separation in the world (referring to the idea that human beings are connected through relationships with at most six other people) but in the curling world, there are fewer degrees of separation and that frankly is the beauty of sport!

Work at playing your 8 end club games in less than 2 hours. I realize with the Four Rock Free Guard Zone, the game is much more complicated but it is not fun to show up for a 9:00PM game and not get on the ice until 9:45PM. Time is so important to Canadians today that a couple of weeks of getting on late might cause someone to give up playing. Challenge your teammates to see how fast a game can be played and try and get it to one hour and fifty minutes! And you know what, you’ll have way more fun and more exercise as you will always be moving. Try it and keep the late draw players happy!

Should there be a major curling event within a reasonable distance of your home (World championships, Brier, Tournament of Hearts, provincial / territorial championships, a Grand Slam or other big cash bonspiels), buy two tickets and take a non-curling friend to see a game. And while you’re there, check out the lounge whether it’s the Brier Patch or the Heartstop lounge. Your friend will be impressed at the whole operation / excitement…and the word will spread!